."BssAs! 
887 





tf. 






I LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, U 

^ ^ ^ 

Chap. _..h. .C &. 4- 



Shelf 




ITES OF 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. ^ 






MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 



LIFE AND CHARACTER 



LEWIS BEACH 

( A REPRESENTATIVE FROM NEW YORK), 



DELIVERED IN THE 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND IN THE SENATE, 

FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION. 



PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF CONGRESS. 



WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
• 1887. 



^a 



A 






^^ 



JOINT RESOLUTION providing foi- printing eulogies delivered in Congress upon the late 
Abraham Dowdney, John Arnot, jr., Lewis Beach, AVilliani T. Price, 'Williani H. Cole, 
and Austin F. Pike. 

Resolved hij the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of Ameriea in Congress assembled, That there be prmted, of the 
eulogies delivered in Congress upon the late Abraham Dowdney, John 
Arnot, jr., and Lewis Beach, late Representatives in the Forty-ninth 
Congress from the State of New York, and William T. Price, late a 
Representative from the State of Wisconsin, and William H. Cole, late 
a Representative from the State of Maryland, twelve thousand five 
hundred copies each ; of whicli three thousand copies of each shall be for 
the use of the Senate and nine thousand five hundred each for the use 
of the House of Representatives. 

Sec. 2. That there be also printed of the eulogies delivered in Congress 
upon the late Austin F. Pike, a Senator from New Hampshire, twelve 
thousand copies ; of which four thousand copies shall be for the use of 
the Senate and eight thousand copies for the use of the House of Rej^re- 
sentatives. 

Sec. 3. That the Secretary of the Ti-easury be, and he is hereby, directed 
to have printed portraits of the said Abraham Dowdney, John Arnot, jr., 
Lewis Beach, William T. Price, William H. Cole, and Austin F. Pike, to 
accompany said eulogies, and for the purpose of engraving and printing 
said portraits the sum of three tliousand dollars, or so much thereof as 
may be necessary, is hereby appropriated out of any moneys in the Tieas- 
ury not otherwise appropriated. 

Api)roved. March 3, 1887. 



ANNOUNCEMENT 

OF THE 

Death of Lewis Beach. 



In the House of Representatives, 

December G, 18S6. 

Mr. Hewitt. Mr. Speaker, it is my painful duty to an- 
nounce to the House that since its adjournment in August 
last, two members of the New York delegation have died, 
Hon. Lewis Beach, avIio represented in this House the Fif- 
teenth Congressional district, and Hon. John Arnot, Jr., 
who represented the Twenty-eighth Congressional district, 

I do not propose at this time to do more than make this 
sad announcement, knowing that the House will hereafter 
take such action as will be appropriate in the circumstances. 
But I send to the desk resolutions which I ask to have read 
by the Clerk. 

The Clerk read as follows : 

Resolved, Tliat the House has heard with sincere regi-et tlie announce- 
ment of the death during the late recess of Hon. Lewis Beach and Hon. 
John Arnot, Jr., late Representatives from the State of New York. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate the foregoing resolution to the 
Senate. 

Resolved, That as a mark of respect to the memory of the deceased 
Representatives the House do now adjourn. 

The Speaker. The question will be first on agreeing to the 
first and second resolutions. 
The first and second resolutions were unanimously agreed 

to. 

3 



Life and Character of Lewis Beach. 



In the House of Representatives, 

February 8, 1887. 
Mr. Viele. Mr. Speaker, I su"bmit the resolutions I send 
to the desk. 

The Clerk read as follows : 

Resolved, That this House has heard with profovmd sorrow of the 
death of Lewis Beach, a Representative in Congress from the State of 
New York. 

Eesolved, That all other business be suspended in order that fitting 
tributes of respect may be paid to his memory. 

Resolved, That these resolutions be communicated to the family of Mr. 
Beach. 



ADDRESSES 

ON THE 

Death of Lewis Beach. 



DELIVERED IN THE TWO HOUSES OF CONGRESS. 



Address of Mr. Viele, of Ne^v York. 

Mr. Speaker: These resolutions are offered for the con- 
sideration of the House in pursuance of an honored custom 
that permits us to perform the sad duty of respect for the 
memory of our lamented colleague. Mr. Beach was born 
in the city of New York on the 30th day of March, 1835. 
In that city his early boyhood was spent, and having ac- 
complished the necessary preliminary education he entered 
the Yale Law School, where he graduated in the year 1856, 
at the age of twenty-one, was admitted to the bar the same 
year, and commenced the practice of law in the city of his 
birth. 

In 1861 he removed to the town of Cornwall, Orange 
County, New York, where he combined with the practice 
of law the, to him, genial pursuit of farming, following the 
example of many illustrious men. At the same period he 
devoted a portion of his time to literary pursuits, contribut- 
ing many interesting and instructive articles to various 
periodicals and newspapers. In fact his mind was always 

active in matters connected with the varied interests of 

5 



6 LiJ(i cmd Character of Lewis Beach. 

life, and he gave a great deal of time to the study of social 
problems, especially the laws of sanitation. He subse- 
quently published a history of the town of Cornwall. Hav- 
ing shown a warm interest in public affairs, he was elected 
a supervisor of the town in 18G9, and filled other public posi- 
tions. 

In 1880 he was placed on the Presidential electoral ticket, 
but having received the nomination for Representative in 
Congress from the district in which he resided he resigned 
his place on the electoral ticket and was subsequently elected 
a member of the Forty-seventh Congress and was re-elected 
to the Forty-eighth and to the Forty-ninth Congresses. It 
was near the close of the first session of the Forty-ninth 
Congress that, after having devoted himself with untiring 
assiduity to his duties, he found his health impaired, and, 
had he yielded in time to the solicitations of his family and 
friends, he could probably, by taking a respite from his 
arduous labor, have recuperated his energies; but such was 
his conscientious devotion to his duty that he undertook to 
fight off the insidious approaches of disease until it was too 
late for him to rally from its effects. He had barely strength 
to return to his home when he was overtaken by the dread 
destroyer. 

The peculiarity of Mr. Beach's character, and that which 
marked his whole career as a member of this House, was his 
steadfast adherence to his convictions of the right in spite 
of all opposition, from whatever source it came. 

No argument, no inducement could persuade him to swerve 
I'oi' an instant from the course lie had marked out for himself 
to pursue. No Representative could possiljly be more de- 
voted to the interests of his constituents. 

No member of the House was more industrious and inde- 
fatigable in his efforts to rulHll all the duties of his positic^n. 



Address of Mr. Viele, of New York. 7 

The first in liis seat and the last to leave it, he followed with 
assiduity every detail of legislation, scanned every measure, 
and watched every resolution. 

But, above all things, he was almost painfully conscien- 
tious in regard to any delays in the transaction of the pub- 
lic business. He felt that those measures that related to the 
interests of the country at large should at all times take pre- 
cedence over the claims of private individuals, no matter 
how just they might be. For his efforts in this respect he 
acquired the temporary ill-will of many who felt annoyed 
at the persistency with which he interposed objections to 
what he regarded as obstructions of the ordinary business 
of the House. And yet no one for a moment doubted the 
sincerity of his motives. To those who knew him best he 
did not hesitate to express the feelings of sorrow and regret 
at the pain and annoyance he knew that he caused to others 
by the discharge of what he considered his solemn duty to 
the country. 

He was almost morbidly sensitive in regard to what he 
considered a loss of time in the transaction of the public 
business caused by obituary proceedings. He believed that 
it was the duty of Congress to set apart the Sabbath day 
for such exercises as being more appropriate to the occasion 
and as a great advantage to the public business. Having 
by a careful calculation ascertained that in one session alone 
nearly a month was lost by the motions and exercises inci- 
dent to the death of deceased membere, he offered a resolu- 
tion that all such proceedings should take place on the 
Sabbath, and if his spirit is allowed to know what we are 
now doing it must rejoice that his death has in no manner 
impeded the course of legislation. 

No man possessed a more kindly disposition, a warmer 
heart, or a more generous nature. To do an act of kindness 



8 Life and Character of Lewis Beach. 

was to him a source of the deepest pleasure, and lie was 
always ready to go out of his way to serve another without 
feeling that he thereby conferred an obligation. He always 
had a pleasant word for any one, and never spoke a harsh 
word except in denunciation of an act of wrong or injustice. 
In his domestic relations he was beloved as a husband and 
father, and his whole time was divided between his devotion 
to his family and to his official duties. He knew no pleasure 
or enjoyment beyond them. 

Among his immediate friends and neighbors Mr. Beach 
was warmly esteemed. The triple life that he led of farmer, 
lawyer, and legislator brought him into close relation with 
all classes of people, and all found in him a ready and willing 
counselor and friend. He possessed an intuitive knowledge 
of the wants of his constituents, and the humblest among 
them never sought his advice or assistance in vain. With 
these brief remarks, Mr. Speaker, I yield to others who may 
perhaps have known him longer, although I doubt that any 
more fully appreciated than myself the sterling qualities, 
both of mind and heart, that he possessed. 



Address of Mr. Bacon, of New York. 

Mr. Speaker : I should fail entirely to express the senti- 
ment of the district which Mr. Beach formerly represented 
in this body did I not take advantage of this opportunity and 
this time to bear public witness to the feeling of profound 
grief with which the announcement of Mr. Beach's untimely 
death was received throughout the whole section of country 
in which he lived. By his faithful services to the interests 
of his constituents Mr. Beach had elevated himself from the 
position of a newcomer in that country, an unknown man, 
to the place of the most prominent resident of his district. 



Address of Mr. Bacon, of Xeic York. 9 

His people had learned that no claim they could make 
upon his services was refused, that no man was too humble 
for him to recognize or help, and no man's position was such 
that it was possible for him to be awed or in any way dis- 
turbed by his denunciations. 

It happened to him that he was selected to run upon the 
Democratic ticket for Representative in Congress from that 
district at a time when the district was in much disorder 
and there was no little difficulty in the Democratic i)arty. 
He was elected, though almost at the time of his election 
unknown to a large portion of his constituents. By the 
time he was elected a second time, so faithful had he been 
to their interests, so attentive to their demands, that it was 
almost impossible to find a man willing to contest the elec- 
tion with him, and his election therefore from the first was 
a foregone conclusion. 

Again, and contrary to all precedents in my district, con- 
trary to all rules of parties since it has been a district. Mr. 
Beach was nominated a third time, and elected without 
serious opposition. 

No one, sir, seemed to be in better health— no one in the 
fullest vigor of life could have rendered more faithful serv- 
ices to his people; and his death came as suddenly upon 
his constituents as it did unhappily to them. 

I was present at his funeral at his modest but exceedingly 
beautiful home. I saw gatliered there men from all por- 
tions of his district, men who lived upon the banks of the 
Hudson where it is almost as wide as a sea, and men who 
had their homes up in the mountains where the trees bridge 
across the streams that find their outlet through the capes 
of the Delaware. I saw there men who were mechanics 
and men who were merchants. I saw there bankers, brick- 
makers, and saw there also, above all, and perhaps more 



10 Liife and Character of Lewis Beach. 

numerous than any other class, the veterans of the war, and 
I saw the evidence on all sides of a deep jiersonal bereave- 
ment. 

The district has had no more faithful servant; it can have 
no more beloved one at any time. It is not my place, it is 
not within my power, to tell this House how he performed 
his public duty in this place. But I cannot pass the oppor- 
tunity of bearing to this House the message of sympathy in 
the grief which it feels from the persons whom Mr. Beach 
represented as a member upon this floor. 



Address of Mr. Henderson, of Iowa. 

Mr. Speaker : It is a sad duty to pay tribute to the mem- 
ory of a dead colleague. But this duty becomes lighter when 
one can speak without reserve and with candor touching the 
merits and the character of the departed Representative. 

Though a sad duty on this occasion, still it is mingled with 
pleasure, since our deceased friend possessed those qualities 
of head and heart that invite the freest and fullest commen- 
dation from those who knew him. 

I had the pleasure of knowing well Mr. Lewis Beach, of 
Cornwall, N. Y. Prior to the Forty-eighth Congress I did 
not know him personally, but during the long sessions of 
the Forty-eighth and Forty-ninth Congresses he and I, with 
our families, lived in the same house; and as members, so to 
speak, of a common household, and of the two Congresses 
named, I came to know him intimately. 

I knew him as a representative of the people, as a neigh- 
bor, and as a friend. As a legislator he had some critics, 
but no enemies; some whom he annoyed, but none whom he 
angered. No man, perhaps, in the Forty-eighth and Forty- 



Address of Mr. Henderson, of loiva. H 

ninth Congresses interfered more with special legislation 
than did the deceased; but I am clear that this was always 
done with a conscientious desire to do what he conceived to 
be his duty to the people. He was an independent man and 
fearless, but his highest ambition seemed to be to bravely 
prevent an unnecessary and unwise expenditure of the pub- 
lic money. 

He aspired in a marked degree to represent the agricult- 
ural and the laboring interests, and this aspiration had for 
its foundation sincerity and zeal. Such men are often called 
demagogues. Those who knew Mr. Beach best will acquit 
him of being that, and concede him sincerity, zeal, and cour- 
age in making the objections which so often thwarted us all 
in our efforts at legislation in this body. 

There were few harder workers in the House of Repre- 
sentatives than Mr. Beach. He was always at liis post of 
duty in the House; and hardly a night was he absent from 
his desk, working with the greatest patience and industry. 
He attended to the correspondence with his people, and 
sought in every way to meet their wishes in the thousand 
little details which so fully tax the strength and patience of 
a Representative of the present day 

His nature was kind and his disposition obliging; he was 
a man of clean purposes, clean thoughts, and clean life. 
His open nature, his unvarying good temper, his genial 
manners, made his presence always pleasant and welcome 
to his friends. 

He was a strong partisan, but this was only visible in the 
field of political conflict, and at moments when brave men 
should assert their honest political convictions. He never 
needlessly obtruded his political views upon those differing 
from him in politics; and in the parlor, in the home, and in 
all his social relations he dropped the politician and became 



12 Life and Character of Leivis Beach. 

the genial, companionable gentleman, and the warm-hearted, 
obliging friend. 

Though he was strong in his district, thougli a potent 
factor in this House, perhaps the highest compliment that I 
can pay to his memory is to say that his greatest strength 
was in his own home. He was fond of pleasure, but he 
wanted his family to share his pleasure with himself. He 
was fond of society, but it never had charms or strong 
attractions for him unless his own family formed a part of 
the social life. When not absolutely called away by his 
public duties his evenings were always spent with his 
family. His workshop was there; the family was his re- 
public; and he sought to make each member of it inde- 
pendent and happy. He who will honestly speak plainly of 
the simple life of Mr. Beach, bringing out his every-day 
acts, and opening his whole life as God saw that life, ^Y\\\ 
pay the highest and most eloquent tribute to his memory. 

He has been missed by us all ; his district will have diffi- 
culty in finding a more faithful Representative; and none 
but the stricken hearts will ever know how irreparable is 
the loss in his quiet home. An honest, earnest, active, kind, 
good man left us when Mr. Lewis Beach died. 



Address of Mr. Hewitt, of Ne^v York. 

Mr. Speaker : The fact that within a brief period three 
members of the New York delegation have been stricken 
down by death, and that they all belonged to the same polit- 
ical party, naturally arrests attention, and appeals to the im- 
agination as something out of the usual course of nature. 
With the exception of Lewis Beach, no one of these mem- 
bers was a man of conspicuous mark in the House, but they 



Address of Mr. Hewitt, of New York. 13 

were all greatly respected, and, so far as they were known, 
beloved by tlieir immediate associates. In regard to Mr. 
Beach I shall have but little to say, because I am informed 
that his career and his services will be fully recounted by 
other members ; but I do desire to say in regard to him that 
he was a thoroughly honest man, who not only had convic- 
tions but the courage of his convictions. He had carefully 
matured his opinions, and with him it was a matter of con- 
science to adhere to what he regarded as the very truth, 
without turning aside for expediency or temporary success. 
It has been thought that his range of statesmanship was too 
narrow for the broad field of duty spread out before the 
House, which is to determine the destinies of the country, 
and to deal with questions of the greatest interest to this 
and succeeding generations. I think that Mr. Beach, at 
times, found his principles in conflict with the immediate 
interests of his constituents. When he was thus embar- 
rassed he never failed to make clear what he regarded as the 
sound view for the whole country, but he usually cast his 
vote so as to represent the wishes of the people who sent 
him here. This conflict of conviction with the duty which 
a Representative undoubtedly owes to his district often de- 
tracted from the weight which his opinions otherwise would 
have had with the House. 

Again, he thought that the rules of the House were suffi- 
cient for the conduct of its business, and that the public 
interests would better be subserved by a rigid maintenance 
of the rules, with only such exceptions as were made neces- 
sary by unforeseeable contingencies. His habit of objecting 
to the suspension of the rules was therefore founded upon 
an opinion deliberately formed, that in this way he could 
best serve his people and the country. Through his long 
term of service he was most diligent in his attendance on 



14 Life and Character of Lewis Beach. 

the House, and all would admit that he cast his vote and 
his influence from motives of the highest honor, so as to 
preserve a conscience void of offense. 

The memory of Mr. Beach will long he held in great 
respect by the members of this House who had learned to 
know his virtues, and who had found in him only those 
faults which are incident to the character of every member. 



Address of Mr. O'Neill, of Missouri. 

Mr. Speaker : I came here to-night to pay a slight tribute 
to the memory of Mr. Beach, one with whom I was inti- 
mately associated. During my first winter in Congress we 
occupied adjoining suites of rooms in the same hotel, and it 
is in that close communion where you are brought together 
every day and every night that you begin to realize the 
hidden worth of a man which is not manifest always in his 
discharge of public duties. 

In all my experience among men I have never known a 
more earnest or a more conscientious and faithful represent- 
ative of what he deemed to be his duty than Mr. Beach. He 
had a conscientious fearlessness that carried him so far that 
he was willing to stand in this House solitary and alone, 
objecting to the consideration of measures that he thought 
should have been brought up at a regular time and presented 
in accordance with the regular mode of procedure. While 
he incurred for the time being the hostility of men when he 
objected to special measures they desired to pass, still that 
earnest, steadfast purpose of Mr. Beach to discharge his 
duty ultimately won the respect of every member in this 
House. And when, after his lingering illness, the sad news 
came that Lewis Beach, of Cornwall, was dead. I know 



Address of Mr. Holman, of Indiana. 15 

that every member felt that the American people had lost a 
fearless, an earnest, and an honest representative, and that 
Congress had lost one of its most useful members. 



Address of Mr, HoLMAN, of Indiana. 

Mr. Speaker: I became acquainted with Mr, Beach soon 
after he entered Congress. He was a modest, unassuming 
gentleman, and during the earlier period of his Congressional 
experience not inclined to take a very active part in the 
current business of the House, but from the beginning he 
manifested a lively and earnest interest in all matters of 
legislation and became at an early day one of the most vigi- 
lant and attentive of the members. It was soon apparent 
that Mr. Beach as a legislator was fully imbued with the 
principles in government common to the school of Demo- 
cratic politicians of the earlier period of our political his- 
tory. 

It was apparent that he drew from the teachings of Jeffer- 
son liis opinions as to the scope and domain of a republic. 
He believed that a plain and frugal government, securing 
protection and justice to all men, and leaving all else to the 
energy and unrestricted enterprise of the people, was the 
best political system that human intelligence could devise. 
Mr. Beach was severely consistent in his course as a legis- 
lator with this theory. His sympathies were uniformly 
with the people. He resisted with earnestness and fidelity 
every encroachment of corporate power or concentrated 
wealth on individual rights, and sought to limit the expend- 
itures of the Government to the actual requirements of the 
public service, leaving nothing for splendid embellishment 
or to tempt the cupidity of the unscrupulous. 



16 Life and Character of Lewis Beach. 

Mr. Beach was a courteous, cheerful, and pleasant gentle- 
man, devoted to liis interesting family, fond of society, and 
anxious to enjoy friendly and pleasant relations with those 
around him, and in the main his relations with gentlemen in 
this Hall and on both sides of the House were cordial and 
pleasant. Yet these social qualities were made subordinate 
to his sense of jDublic duty. He believed that any tendency 
in Congress to loose methods of legislation, especially in 
appropriations from the public treasury, was fatal to economy 
in government. He saw that much of our legislation, es- 
pecially in private bills, involving the expenditure of the 
public money, rested on the courtesy of unanimous consent, 
in which the objection of a single member seemed to be an 
act of personal discourtesy to the gentleman moving the 
measure. 

He questioned this method of legislation as a surrender of 
the duties of the Representative to the demands of kindly 
relations between gentlemen in daily intercourse with each 
other, and at a later period in his service in this House 
sought to restore the methods of actual legislation. It must 
be admitted that in attempting to carry out his views in 
this respect Mr. Beach, while arousing antagonism on every 
hand, bore himself courteously, bravely, and well. No man 
ever attempted a reform, especially in methods of legislation, 
however supjDorted by a sense of duty, without encountering 
unpleasant incidents and, at least, partial disappointments. 
Yet I am sure that Mr. Beach, who manifestly was never 
actuated by any other motive than a sense of public duty in 
his effort to secure legislative reform, when he left this Hall 
never to return left it with only kindly feelings in his heart 
toward all the members of this House, and I am sure that all 
gentlemen here, even those who questioned most his methods 
of legislative reform, recall to mind Lewis Beach with 



Address of Mr. Holman, of Indiana. 17 

feelings of kindness, and concede to him integrity of pnrpose 
and the honor of a manly effort to carry his views of public 
duty into effect. 

I knew Mr. Beach Avell during tlie period of his service in 
this Hall. He honored me with his confidence, and often 
consulted with me on public measures. I can, therefore, 
speak witli confidence of his character as illustrated by his 
career in Congress. While he was not a great leader or 
superior in statesmanship he was a valuable member of this 
House. He was a fearless and manly representative of the 
people. No temptation could shake his integrity. He was 
animated by an earnest desire to promote the public good, 
and the record he made in this Hall will bear, for all time, 
enduring evidence of the fidelity and singleness of purpose 
with which he fulfilled the high duties of a representative 
of the people. 

The resolutions were unanimously adopted, and the House 
accordingly adjourned. 

H. Mis. IGO 2 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE. 



In the Senate of the United States, 

December 7, 1886. 
Mr. Miller. I ask to have laid before the Senate the mes- 
sage from the House of Representatives regarding the death 
of Messrs. Beach and Arxot, late members of that body. 

The President jjyo tempore. The Cliair submits the 
message from the House, which will be read. 
The Chief Clerk read as follows : 

In the House of Representatives, 

December 6. 1886. 
Resolved, That the House has heard with sincere regret the announce- 
ment of the death during the late recess of Hon. Lewis Beach and Hon. 
John Arnot, Jr., late Representatives from the State of New York. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate the foregoing resolution to the 
Senate. 

Mr. Miller. Mr. President, I offer resolutions Avhich I ask 
may be read. 

The Chief Clerk read as follows : 

Resolved, That the Senate has heard with deep sensibility the an- 
nouncement of the death of Hon. Lewis Beach and of the death of Hon. 
John Arnot, Jr., late Representatives from the State of New York. 

Resolved, That the Secretary communicate this resolution to the 
House of Representatives. 

Mr. Miller. I simply desire to say that at some future 
time I shall ask the Senate to listen to some remarks which 
I shall make on the lives of these distinguished persons, and 
after the adoption of these resolutions I will move an ad- 
journment. 

The resolutions were agreed to unanimously. 

19 



20 Life and Character of Leicis Beach. 

Mr. Miller. Mr. President, out of respect to tlie memory 
of the two Representatives mentioned, I move that the Senate 
do now adjourn. 

The motion was agreed to, and the Senate adjourned. 



In the Senate of the United States, 

March 1, 1887 
Mr. Miller. Mr. President, I ask that the Chair lay be- 
fore the Senate the message of the House of Representa- 
tives communicating the resolutions of the House of Repre- 
sentatives on the death of Hon. Lewis Beach. 

The President p?'o tempore laid before the Senate the 
resolutions of the House of Representatives; which were 

read, as follows : 

In the House of Representatives, 

February 22, 1887. 

Resolved, That this House has heard with profound sorrow of the death 
of Lewis Beach, a Representative in Congi-ess from the State of New 
York. 

Resolved, That all other business be suspended in order that fitting 
tributes of respect may be paid to his memory. 

Resolved, That these resolutions be communicated to the family of I\Ir. 
Beach. 

Resolved, That the foregoing resolutions be communicated to the Sen- 
ate. 

Mr. Miller. I send resolutions to the desk, which I ask 
may be read. 

The President j)ro tempore. The resolutions submitted 
by the Senator from New York will be read. 

The resolutions were read, as follows : 

Resolved, Tliat the Senate receives with sincere regret the announce- 
ment of the death of Hon. Lewis Beach, late a member of the House of 
Representatives from the State of New York, and tenders to the relatives 
of the deceased the assurance of their sympathy with them under the 
bereavement they have been called to sustain. 

Resolved, That tlie Secretary of the Senate be directed to ti-ansmit to 
the family of Mr. Beach a certified copy of the foregoing resolution. 



Address of Mr. Miller, of New York. 21 

Address of Mr. Miller, of New York. 

Mr. President: Mr. Beach was well known to many 
members of this body as a vigilant, conscientious, and liard- 
workmg legislator. He was three times elected to Congress 
and faithfully represented the interests of his constituents' 
It IS believed by his family and friends that his constant 
attention to his public duties laid the foundation of tlie 
disease which proved fatal. 

Mr. Beach was in many ways a strong man. He made 
his personality felt in the community in which he lived by 
taking a prominent part in all matters of public interest 
He was honored by his neighbors, who conferred local offices 
upon him, and was finally chosen Representative in Con- 
gress. His service in the House marked him as a man of 
great energy and determination, and as conscientiously 
devoted to what he believed to be right. 

Mr. Beach was an educated gentleman who devoted his 
time to the practice of the law, literary pursuits, and farm- 
ing. His delight in rural pursuits led him to make his home 
on a farm at Cornwall, on the Hudson, near the city of 
Newburg. He was chiefly instrumental in bringing about 
the centennial celebration of the disbandment of the Revo- 
lutionary armies under Washington at Newburg after the 
treaty of peace between the United States and Great Britain 
had been negotiated. 

As a member of the joint Congressional committee which 
had that celebration in charge, I met Mr. Beach at Corn- 
wall, and enjoyed the hospitality of his 'elegant country 
home. Thus I came to know Mr. Beach better than I had 
known him here in his public life. However severe and 
determined he may have been in the discharge of official 



22 Life and Character of Lewis Beach. 

duties, ho was a most genial and liospitable gentleman in 
his own home, and it was these qualities which endeared 
him to his friends and neighbors. 

Mr. Beach will be greatly missed by the community in 
which he lived. • His place in Congress may be filled, for 
our country is rich in the number of citizens who are 
capable of filling any position in the Government, but the 
death of a man possessed of the qualities of Mr. Beach, in 
the prime of life, with all his faculties at their best, cannot 
but be a great loss, not only to his friends and neighbors, 
but also to the whole country. 

The President pro tempore. The question is on the adop- 
tion of the resolutions. 

The resolutions were agreed to unanimously, and the Sen- 
ate accordingly adjourned. 



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